Brash leads British one-two to win Longines FEI World Cup Jumping qualifier at London Olympia

Riding Hello M’Lady, Brash edged out his compatriot Ben Maher into second place ahead of young Belgian talent, Nicola Philippaerts, in third, and with John Whitaker on Ornellaia ensured British riders filled three of the top five places.

By completing victory Brash became the fifteenth British winner of the FEI World Cup Jumping qualifier in Great Britain and also leaves the 31-year-old former world number one rider only a few points short of a qualifying spot for the Longines Final in Omaha, Nebraska, USA, next March.

The packed Grand Hall at Olympia in London saw 35 riders from 14 nations come forward to negotiate the course designed by Great Britain’s Kelvin Bywater which consisted of 13 fences in the first round and a time allowance of 64 seconds.

Thirteen riders from seven nations qualified for the second-round jump-off against the clock of which five horse-and-rider combinations went on to rider double-clear rounds.

Seventh to go, Maher produced the first clear round in the jump-off in 38.85 seconds before America’s Laura Kraut and Zeremonie and John Whitaker and Ornellaia followed with foot-perfect runs albeit with slightly slower times.

Philippaerts, whose father Ludo won this prestigious competition with the legendary Darco 27 years ago, came close when breaking the beam in 39.07 seconds, but it was Brash who demoted his fellow-countryman when second-last to go by going clear in a time of 38.73 seconds.

Only Germany’s Marcus Ehning on Comme Il Faut as last to go stood in Brash’s way from victory and when their round fell apart incurring twenty faults, an all-British one-two was confirmed.

Speaking afterwards Brash, who now has the series Final in his sights, said, “It’s very special to win in front of the home crowd, they were really behind us and it gives you that extra edge!”

“I’ve never really targeted it in the past because the calendar is so full and there’s often a championship, but I’m very fortunate to have a strong team, all coming back from injury, including Hello Sanctos”, he added.

“The courses nowadays are big and technical and Kelvin (course designer Kelvin Bywater) did a wonderful job but some horses will just skip round whatever the builder puts up!”

French rider Kevin Staut continues to head the Western European League table with his current total of 56 points ahead of Italy’s Lorenzo de Luca in second place and Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat in third.

The next leg of the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping 2016/2017 Western European League series takes place at Mechelen, Belgium on Friday 30 December.
Longines FEI World Cup Jumping 2016/2017 Western European League
Result: Round 8 at Olympia, London, Great Britain

1. Hello M’Lady (Scott Brash) Great Britain 0/0 faults 38.73 seconds (jump-off)
2. Diva ll (Ben Maher) Great Britain 0/0 38.85
3. H&M Harley vd Bisschop (Nicola Philippaerts) Belgium 0/39.07
4. Zeremonia (Laura Kraut) USA 0/0 39.63
5. Ornellaia (John Whitaker) Great Britain 0/0 39.70
6. Limestone Grey (Lorenzo de Luca) Italy 0/4 39.10
7. H&M Cue Channa (Malin Baryard-Johnsson) Sweden 0/4 41.17
8. Quenelle du Py (Olivier Robert) France 0/4 41.57
9. Equita van T Zorgvliet (Daniel Deusser) Germany 0/8 41.21
10. Casallo Z (Piergiorgio Bucci) Italy 0/8 41.59
11. California (Edwina Tops-Alexander) Australia 0/8 43.97
12. Chacco’s Son (Maurice Tebbel) Germany 0/8 44.27
13. Comme Il Faut (Marcus Ehning) Germany 0/20 59.55
Longines FEI World Cup Jumping 2016/2017 Western European League
Standings after Round 8 at Olympia, London, Great Britain

1. Kevin Staut France 56 points
2. Lorenzo de Luca Italy 53
3. Steve Guerdat Switzerland 44
4. Romain Duguet Switzerland 43
5. Marcus Ehning Germany 41
6. Scott Brash Great Britain 35
7. Denis Lynch Ireland 34
8. Lauren Hough USA 33
9. Simon Delestre France 31
10. Nicola Philippaerts Belgium 31